He won't harm you
by Viperhat
Summary: Natsu had passed out when Fukuro puked him back up. This left Gray who was slightly tired after the fight to help Erza. Jellal will think twice about this when he is done with him. But Gray never possessed much luck so it was inevitable that something would go wrong. I challenged myself by not researching after writing and not stopping until it's done. Give it a try if you want.
1. Chapter 1

Hello everyone.

This is a one-shot which won't really be expanded upon unless you guy's ask for it. Even then it won't be updated as frequent as my other stories planned.

I was just thinking about what if Gray was the one to get up to Jellal to help Erza instead of Natsu. Also what if Simon was too busy getting Natsu out of the R-system to help Erza and Gray…

Yeah, I know it very different but hey! This is fanfiction and we can post whatever we want (within reason of course :D).

Anyway, lets see what I can make up here…

P.S. This is being posted as soon as i'm done making it so I won't be able to keep to canon because I set myself some rules for this. 1. No research when I start writing. 2. finish In one go 3. as usual, try as hard as you can whilst having fun…

:::-(())-:::

(Like the change?)

Gray was panting heavily after landing the final blow on Fukuro, he watched as the massive owl-faced mage flew straight into one of the suspended cages hanging from what seemed an unreachable height.

He watched Simon pick up Natsu who appeared to be unconscious and place him down on the floor to try and wake the idiot up…

After a minute of Simon trying to verbally bring Natsu out of his sleepy state and Gray slapping said Dragon slayer a multitude of times, they gave up on him and Simon looked at Gray who looked back with a realization that their fellow mage was down.

And someone was going to have to take him back to the boat where the others were…

"Fullbuster, you take Natsu back and i'll get Erza back." Simon ordered.

Gray looked at him with a look that said 'not happening' and replied back to him.

"No! You take him back, I'll get to Erza and I'll get her back!"

"Fullbus-"

"NO! I won't let this guy harm Erza! I won't allow him to take her away from us! You take natsu back I got this!" Gray all but shouted at Simon, who looked at him with a stunned expression before speaking once more.

"we're wasting time!"

"Well get going then!" Gray retorted before stating more softly. "I won't let Erza be harmed by this Jellal Guy. She'll be back safe and sound before you know it, trust me." The determination in his voice made Simon believe in him, no matter how silly that sounded to his mind.

He nodded and picked up Natsu, looked up to see Gray running up the stairs on the other side of the room before turning around and running towards the exit with Natsu in his arms.

:::-(())-:::

(10 minutes later)

Gray had finally made it to the top of the tower and he stopped when he heard a male voice resonating from a few meters in front of him.

Peeking up, his eyes widened when he saw the 'Jellal' character sticking Erzas arm into what seemed to be a lacrima. He was even more scared when he saw her sinking slowly into it. He saw Jellal walking away from her and that was his opening.

Before Erza could sink anymore, she felt someone pulling her back out of the lacrima, she was even more surprised when she saw it was Gray saving her. She thought Gray would've got the others out before attending to her matters.

Then she felt stupid…

Out of everyone in Fairy tail, Gray was the one that pulled her out of her armoured shell, he was the one who helped her get over most of her mental trauma and he was the one who she knew would go to hell and back as many times as he needed to without complaining if it meant she do something as little as smile for a few minutes.

He was the one who truly gave her a future…

"Erza? Are you okay? Are who hurting anywhere?" Gray blushed in embarrassment when he looked at the multiple bruises she had scattered on her person. Then he saw Jellal, realising that he had to move quickly, Gray tried to get Erza up only to see a weird snake like rune wrapping itself around her.

"What the H-" He was cut off when he felt a fist make impact with the side of his head, knocking him a few metres back. He looked up to see Jellal standing in front of him, an expression of irritation on his face.

"Now what do we have here Erza? One of your little friends?" Jellal looked at Gray and then to Erza before smirking and speaking once more. "It looks like one of your chess pieces made it through. Well no matter, the result will still be the same, pawn or not!" He gave an insane grin to Gray, who got ready for a tough fight.

"Meteor!" No sooner had Jellal uttered those words had begun speeding around the floor faster than Gray could blink. He sent a punch to Gray's head which he miraculously dodged and sent his own attack towards Him.

"Ice make: Floor!" Gray pushed his hands into the floor, which in effect made running very difficult for Jellal, he skidded into Gray's foot when he sent it at him. The attack connected, sending Jellal flying into one of the many Etherion spires.

He had underestimated this certain pawn…

"Ice make: Geyser!" Shouted Gray, the magic circle soon appeared under Jellal who was struggling to keep his balance on Gray's Ice. The ice impaled Jellal and kept him suspended until the ice disappeared and he landed on one knee breathing heavily from the quick and painful barrage of attacks he had just taken. Steeling himself, he got back up and smirked again at Gray.

"it'll take more than that if you want to be the king at his own game" He commented.

Gray's eyes just narrowed down to Jellal…

"I don't care, you sick freak. After what have done Erza, I will bring what it takes and even more from where it came from!"

"You may try..."

Gray slammed his fist into his palm again.

"Ice make: Hammer!" The hammer appeared and Gray brought it down on his his opponent. However Jellal managed to move out of the way.

"Meteor!" Once again he was running at that impossible speed. Gray barely had time to dodge the first attack so when the second one came he wasn't able to move in time. The fist connected with his face which sent him up high in the air. He recovered and tried to attack back Jellal had stated his barrage of attacks.

He didn't hear anything, but there were things being thrown at him, they looked like medium sized balls of magic being thrown towards him and he could hardly get out of the way In time.

"Ice make: Saucer!" He unleashed his razor sharp icy disk towards a piece of Etherion so it would bounce off of that and it would hit Jellal. It was a fiddly tactic and one that only presented itself now. But he knew he could pull it off.

Just as he suspected, the saucer bounced off of the spire and was sent straight into Jellal.

"Quit moving you- argh!" Jellal felt the sharp blade cut into his back slightly as he fell forward. Gray took the opportunity to uppercut Jellal to then kick him in the chest which knocked the tattooed man on his back.

"Ice make: Prison!" The prison appeared and trapped Jellal. Gray took the chance to help remove the blind snake rune from Erza.

"Dammit! This sort of thing is Frieds Job, not mine!" Gray pondered for a second, but it seemed he didn't have to do much as the bonds were released. He looked back to see Jellal slowly getting back up. Very slowly.

He had time, that's all that mattered…

"Are you all right Erza?" He asked in concern. Erza looked at him with a sad but glad expression.

"Yes, but we can't let Jellal get away with this." She sadly stuttered out, she started looking down at the floor, fighting back tears.

Gray rushed to her side to help her up.

"It's okay… He won't be able to hurt anyone, he wo-" He and Erza were hit from behind and with a strike of magical balls and Erza being sapped of any strength just crumpled to the floor, struggling to get back up.

"Hmhmhmhm, Oh how could you have forgotten pawn? There is an Etherion blast heading this way and all you have accomplished is getting in my way for a while." Jellal grinned at him. "In fact, there it is!"

Gray's eyes widened and he and Erza looked up into the sky to see a massive, bright beam of pure magic heading straight towards the tower. Gray acted quickly, grabbing Erza and Creating a cocoon made of ice around them.

The beam struck and Gray struggled to hold the shield around them due to the intense pressure and pure power that the explosion held. He soon lost the fight but concentrated on Erzas defence, foregoing his own. If he didn't, he would spend to much magic energy and pass out before he could get Erza out of there.

And that was not happening on his watch…

:::-(())-:::

As soon as Simon had got Natsu to safety he bid good luck to the fairy tail mages on the boat and began his long trek back the tower of heaven. He hoped Fullbuster had managed to keep his vow to keep Erza safe. He he hadn't it wouldn't be Jellal he would have to look out for.

He was sure that the others were worried about their fellow mages too so it made this trek even more important. But before he could advance any further, he heard a massive explosion and large slabs of brick were crumbling all around him.

This would not have been a problem if the slabs didn't get in the way of his path. He cursed his rotten luck and started looking for a different way of getting through. But that would take time.

He only hoped that Erza and Fullbuster could hold out for that long…

:::-(())-:::

Erza winced when she woke up from her slumber. She looked around to find Gray and Jellal barely standing and going at it with all they had. Gray looked like death had hit him with a train, he was pale, ghostly pale, he was struggling to stand judging by his posture and he was far slower than before.

Jellal at least looked like had had a tiny bit of magic left, but he looked like he was truly angry now. Then she looked around and she saw why. The Lacrima was destroyed and the rest of the structure looked like it was wrecked.

Then she saw the ice around it and knew exactly who caused it…

"You- You have ruined everything I worked on for the last six years! You won't get away alive you pathetic bug! You will know pain." Jellal looked like he had finally snapped. He was lashing out and using his magic to attack with such ferocity that it was amazing Gray could even dodge most of his attacks. But why wasn't Gray using his magic?

Was he out? Or worse?

"Erza!" She turned her head from the fight to see Simon running towards her, he looked at her scared.

"Oh thank god your okay! Oh thank god!" Simon whispered whilst holding her to him tightly. "We have to go, now!" Simon tried to get her out but one sentence stopped him.

"No! Wait, please help Gray!" Erza pleaded her eye's frantic and tired. "Please don't let Jellal kill him… He's-" Before her sentence could be finished, Simon had dodged an attack from Jellal who seemed to have knocked Gray out, or so it seemed.

"I-Ice make: Ice C-Canon!" He crafted a flawless canon and fired a shot straight into Jellals head which sent him to the ground. Gray looked dead from were Simon was standing and could see Erza looking scared. Jellal got back up and looked between the three. Then he finally smirked.

"You have taken everything from me Ice mage, now it's my turn.!"

he floated upward and shouted out his finishing move.

"ALTAIRIS!"

He soon had a ball seemingly made completely of shadows which was growing at an alarming rate. Simon tried to run but found himself trapped and Erza was to weak to move on her own.

He was doomed…

"Erza..." He breathed out.

"I know, it's okay..." She seemed sad but ready for the inevitable.

The shadowy ball was finally released towards them and they stared the big ball of death in the face and prepared for the unimaginable pain…

"I-ICE M-MAKE: G_GUNGNIR!" They heard Gray and Erza opened her eyes to see the most horrifying sight she had ever seen…

Gray had somehow managed to get back up, but he was stood in front of them, with a massive lance penetrating the ball. However the ball kept moving forward and due to his lack of magic, Gray's Gungnir lance was greatly smaller in comparison to the normal spear he could normally conjure up. Effectively; the ball had been able to hit him and he refused to move in case they were hit by the residue.

That was all he had left…

After the magic dissipated, Erza with wide eyes finally managed to speak.

"N-NO GRAY!" She somehow found the strength to crawl towards the unmoving ice mage and she tried to shake him awake. "GRAY! STOP PLAYING AROUND AND WAKE UP! GRAY!" She tried and tried to shake him but no matter what she tried, Gray just wouldn't move.

She couldn't hold the tears back any more. Her tears spilled out of her eyes as she looked at her seemingly dead friend. He had spent the entire time he knew her by trying to help her and be the one for her to cry on. She never repaid him in anyway, Not in any form.

She didn't even get to tell him how she felt…

Simon walked over and tried to find a pulse. His eyes widened largely when he made a great discovery.

"He's alive..."

Erza looked at him with wide eyes brimmed with tears.

"What? Are you sure?" She asked desperately.

"I'm certain, but he is in a critical condition." He stated solemnly. "If we wait any longer, he could die!"

Erza tried to get up but due to her injuries she had no chance.

"can you get us out of here? She asked him.

"Yes, and don't worry." He said. "he is in good hands. The both of you are...". He carefully picked up Gray and Erza and looked back at the limp form of Jellal. Gray really did a number on him that was for sure…

Before he could think about it any more, the tower had started crumbling around him from what he expected was because of the damage the had taken before Jellals attack. The tower just couldn't take another attack of any scale and Jellal hit both Gray and the tower with a massive attack so the Etherion tower just gave in to the damage.

"Dammit! We've got to go now!" He sprinted as fast as he could with Gray and Erza in his arms, rocketing down each floor at an incredible speed. He was soon near to the exit and he could see the rest of the team floating in what seemed to be a bubble of water.

"The water women must be responsible for that." He muttered out, he was really tired after running down from the top of a tower that pierced the clouds which he thought was reasonable.

He jumped into the water and swan to the boat/bubble thing as fast as he could whilst trying to keep Gray and Erza above the water level which was proving to be a challenge in itself.

'Almost there… Almost there' Simon was getting too tired to carry on moving, he was trying his hardest not to fall unconscious from the strain he was taking in right now. He wouldn't let Fullbuster die, not after the emotion Erza showed for him.

She cared a lot for him…

If he died, Erza would never recover from the loss. He guessed that the others wouldn't be far off the mark either.

"There they are!" Shouted The blue cat. The others looked over to where it pointed and they saw that the cat wasn't lying. They all saw Simon struggling to keep above the water, with Erza just about staying awake and Gray unconscious and looking like death.

"It's about damn time ice princess got back." Said Natsu. He wasn't happy about being left on the boat with the others whilst Erza was in danger.

"At least their okay…" Replied Lucy who hadn't looked over just yet. Natsu had laid all over for a good few minutes and she was sprawled all over the boat. When she looked over however her eyes were noticeably wider.

They weren't 'okay' as she had put it. Erza was just barely awake and Simon looked ready to fall into pieces after such a long traverse down the tower.

But Gray looked the worst. He had multiple cuts and bruises all over his body, He must've stripped somewhere because you could see dried blood that was to stubborn to wash off all over his chest and stomach. His face looked like it wasn't moving at all. That was the thing that scared not just Lucy, but everyone else she saw looked a bit more pale than before…

Juvia however was outright screaming…

"Gray-sama! What happened to you?! Who did this?! Wake up! Please! Don't be dead!" Juvia was a bit more frantic than usual, but that could be forgiven due to the circumstances.

Natsu Looked alarmed. He had been unable to smell the blood because the water had covered the scent. But then as Gray, Erza and Simon got closer he was able to pick up the scent. There wasn't a lot to go on, but the way that Gray had looked he couldn't deny that it was the smell of blood.

"Hey! Simon, What happened to Gray?! Why does he smell of Blood? Tell me!" He screamed at the half dead mage.

Simon had finally managed to get to the boat and Lucy and Juvia hoisted Erza and Gray into the boat before helping Simon on. They laid Gray down and inspected his injuries. They painful looking and they looked like they would stay for a long while.

"How?… How did he get this messed up?! What happened up there?!" Natsu had all but roared in Simon's face. He wanted to know what happened to his friend.

Simon looked down towards Erza, who lost consciousness and was now asleep, with her hand weakly stretched toward Gray.

"He saved our lives..."

He went on to tell them about how he saw Gray and Jellal having a weak fist fight, about how Jellal got a lucky fist in and knocked Gray down, about Jellals Altairis attack and how Gray took the hit for them and how he made a small spear weapon to pierce Jellals attack to take him out.

He also told them of Erza's reaction to Grays brave action. He asked them why would Erza act like that around Gray when she never around Jellal before his turn. In his head Erza had acted fairly strict around his old group. She never reacted to Jellals punishment like she did Gray's. He wanted to know if they were closer than Her and Jellal.

Well she WAS like that…

"I don't know. Gray and Erza have been at the guild longer than any of us here. Only they know why." Natsu said in reply to Simon's question. He truly had no idea why. Perhaps it was just watching someone she knew almost die.

Or maybe it was something more.

"We have to get them back to the guild right now! Will you help us do that?" Lucy asked Simon.

He thought for a second…

Then his answer came to him…

"Yes."

:::-(())-:::

(2 hours later)

It had been a gruelling couple of hours. During that time Grays heart had stopped a total of three times, scaring everyone each time it stopped. Erza had mumbled in her sleep induced haze about Gray being dead. When she mentioned Gray being dead, her face would distort into a sad face and her eyes leaked tears for two minutes before she went back to being silent.

Lucy, Natsu and the others felt sympathy for the red head. She seemed to be in a nightmare she wasn't able to escape from. If she woke up she would most likely worry about Gray and become frantic until she fell asleep again, or she would continue sleeping and carry on the horrors in her slumber.

She really had a crappy hand dealt to her…

But they had finally made it back to the guild. Natsu ran over to the doors and hurriedly waved the others over.

Kicking in the massive doors instantly got the attention of the Guild members who were pleasantly surprised to see Natsu return. They then saw his facial expression and they were scared.

"SOMEONE GET GRAMPS OR MIRAJANE! WE HAVE WOUNDED!" Natsu had roared and everyone had instantly sprang into action, Elfman ran to get his sister and Macao went to get Makarov.

Then Simon entered with Erza and Gray and Natsu quickly got them to the infirmary. Mirajane and Makarov were pale when they had seen Grays condition.

"Oh my god..." Gasped Mirajane. She had never seen Gray so beaten and bruised before. She quickly went to work on His many cuts and bruises whilst Makarov had got Simon to lay Erza on the bed next Gray.

"All she needs is some rest. She suffered from a few powerful strikes and magical draining." Makarov had deduced. "Now would you like to tell me what happened to my children?" He looked at Simon Who began his story…

:::-(())-:::

(10 minutes later)

It took a few minutes to explain everything, but soon Simon had finished his story and Makarov had listened intently to every word Simon spoke.

"You sure you have no idea where your other friends are now? He asked calmly.

"No." He replied "No I don't."

"Well at least you redeemed yourself..." Muttered Makarov.

" I have one more thing to tell you" Simon stated before Makarov could continue. "Jellal didn't only have one lacrima on the top of the tower, he had one more I found before the tower fell. It seems to record the events that had taken part during the fight. It was almost as if he wanted to record his feat." Then he looked at Gray. "I guess he didn't expect to have an intruder come in and stop him.

He then looked back at Makarov.

"You should feel honoured to have this kid in your guild. Natsu may be a dragon slayer but if it wasn't for Fullbuster here, both he and Erza would not be here as we speak. Is he an S-class mage by any chance?"

"No, but he is a hopeful." Makarov answered.

Simon was surprised…

"GRAY!" Shouted Erza. She had just woken to see Gray next to her, strapped to many machines and sporting an abundance of bandages that only left his Right eye and his hair that was covered in muck.

"Erza! Don't try to move or you will just fall over again!" Exclaimed Simon, worry evident in his voice.

"Please just tell if he okay… I don't him to die." She weakly pleaded. "I don't him to leave me..." Simon couldn't deny her that right. She so clearly was desperate to know about Grays condition.

It was at this point that Simon could see she held special feeling for him. He couldn't say no…

"I won't lie, he is in bad shape. He had used too much magic in the fight and to top it off he jump in front of a spell that is used to kill people. How he is alive now is very impressive but whether or not he pulls through is another story all together." He said solemnly.

He felt awful when Erza leaned back and started sobbing quietly, she was officially in a state of despair. Unless Gray woke up and told her he was alive she would be inconsolable.

But a miracle happened when he and Erza heard a sharp gasp from the raven haired mage next top them.

Gray had just woke up…

:::-(())-:::

I'm sorry if this seems like a train wreck but the rules are rules and I do have a habit of forgetting certain details to events.

And this to me felt very rushed and slightly unrealistic. I do feel like I could've done better but I keep forgetting everything. I'm surprised I can remember the details of my story.

But I can happily say that this is the longest potential one-shot I have ever done so it isn't all bad.

Also; some trivia questions.

What's your favourite anime? Mine is (obviously) Fairy tail.

Long hair or short hair? I have longish hair. (shoulder length)

and finally…

Who is your favourite FT character? Mine is quite obviously Gray Fullbuster.

Anyway, the next post will be somewhat late. But it will be the next chapter to 'The Ripple Effect' so you guys have that to look forward to. (if it is decent at least)

So I will see you next post,

-Viperhat


	2. Chapter 2

Hello fellow fools.

I believe I have held off on this long enough… Welcome back to the next and final chapter of He won't harm you.

Problem is that I don't know how to write it… That and (in my opinion) my writing has decreased in quality over the last few weeks.

I am just tired of looking at this story and seeing it un-concluded.

Also I have no TRIVIA TIME questions this late at night so I may just give you some of my infamous phrases…

I know how much you love those phrases…

LETS READ!

:::-(())-:::

"Gray!"

Erza's shout had gained the attention of Simon, who looked over to see why she had called out her friends name.

Simon was surprised to see the battered ice mage awake, any normal person wouldn't have woken up for a good few months if he were lucky and here was Gray awake and seemingly fine. He called for Mirajane to come in and look him over.

Mirajane came in after hearing Simon's voice and was greeted by Gray looking at her with a sleepy and confused expression coupled with Erza looking like she wanted to squeeze him in her arms forever. She smiled at seeing Gray up and sat on the chair next to Gray.

She saw that he was healthy enough to come off of the machines so she took off most of the tubes that were attached to Gray before looking at him with sympathy.

"It's good to see you awake Gray, but I am going to have to change your bandages in a minute as they have already been soaked through." Gray looked salty at the thought of moving and Mira offered him a sympathetic smile before pulling gently removing the bandages and lightly dabbing various liquids on his many wounds.

Gray tensed weakly, still half asleep. He looked around and saw that he was finally in the guild infirmary. He mentally smacked himself for not noticing that when he saw Mirajane.

His eyes roamed around the room further and he saw Erza looking at him with shock and relief. He gave her a light grin to let her know that he was fine before he was rolled back onto his back, looking down he saw his new coat of bandages that left his whole head un-covered this time.

He guessed that his face was pretty enough for the human eye to gaze upon now…

Mirajane looked at Simon and she gave him a reassuring nod of her head before walking out of the infirmary. Simon went over to Erza and helped her off of her bed before walking her over to the chair next to Gray.

Erza sat down, wiping the many tears she had released before staring at Gray warily, as if he would disappear if she looked away.

Deciding to start off a conversation Gray spoke.

Well, more like rasped.

"Hey, you okay?"

Erza just looked at him for a few more seconds before launching herself at him and managing to wrap her arms around him. Clinging to him tightly, she buried her head into his chest and started sobbing uncontrollably.

Gray being the one to always be flustered by her tears looked at Simon for help, he just smirked at him before mouthing 'She's all yours' to him. He glared at him and then winced as he felt Erza tighten her grip around him.

"Ah! Erza, loosen up a bit would you." His eyes almost bugged out when he felt her arms just tighten further. Erza shook her head vigorously into his chest in defiance.

This was so unlike her…

She finally looked at him tearfully, her eyes sad and angry.

"You idiot. You damn idiot!" She spoke quietly. "Why did you do that?! You almost died! You almost left me! Why did you do that!" She was in hysterics, that much Gray could tell.

"What do you mean?" He asked, confusion evident in his voice.

She dissolved into more tears and he could tell she was remembering his fight. He then realised what she meant.

"Why?" She was struggling to form coherent sentences now. "Why, Why did you jump in front of that attack?! It could've killed you and you still did it!" Gray could see she was to keep her fists from hitting his battered chest. More importantly he now knew for certain what she was talking about.

He wrapped his bandaged arms around her and gave her a slight grin…

"I wasn't going to let that ass kill you." He started, finally gaining full control of his voice again. "If I lost you then I would've lost the best damn thing that ever happened to me in my life. You have you're whole life ahead of you Erza, one that will be full of joy and content. After what you have been through that is the least you deserve."

He took a deep breath, almost coughing before continuing on.

"If you had died then me and the whole world would've lost a brilliant life. The guild would be completely different without you and I know that it would be unbearable to even think of in further detail. My life would also be worthless if you had died from something I could've stopped."

Erza stopped him from explaining any further before replying.

"But what about me Gray?! What if you had died?! I couldn't live with myself if you had! Your too important to me Gray so please don't you ever do that to me again! My life would be meaningless without you and I can't think of my life without you in it either!" She pounded his chest lightly.

Gray groaned in pain, Erza still had a powerful punch even when tired.

"Careful, i'm delicate..." He got a look from her that said 'shut up and you may live to see tomorrow' and he quickly shut his trap before it was shut for him.

At least Erza was getting back to normal…

And fairly quickly too…

He heard the infirmary doors open and he and Erza looked over to see Natsu, Lucy and Happy enter along with Simon.

:::-(())-:::

Natsu opened the door and instantly rushed in to see how Erza and ice pants were doing when he saw Erza next to Grays bed with her head on his chest. He grinned and was about to make them both jump but Lucy flicked his head and glared at him with an expression that screamed 'you do that and you will suffer'.

"Hey, are two okay?" He heard Lucy call out softly.

In all honesty, he was relieved and happy to see Gray awake and in a fairly okay condition. When he first saw Simon lay the two mages down Gray looked ready to be buried and given the funerals of all funerals…

The fact that Gray was so close to death scared the living shit out of him, he may have been his rival but Natsu wasn't so stupid as to believe that he was better than Gray. No matter how much Natsu trained and tuned his advantages Gray always seemed to get the upper hand and give a reason to get better.

In a way, Gray was to him at least a pillar of strength and will. To that pillar practically bed ridden for the time being both saddened and frightened Natsu.

The two injured mages looked over towards the four and Gray gave them a weak smirk whilst Erza gave them a soft and happy smile.

Lucy was pleased to see Gray awake, she had been so scared when Grays heart had stopped those times on the cart back home. She had dissolved into tears thinking on what if Gray didn't survive his injuries.

If he died it would've destroyed Erza, it would've broken Natsu and she would've been inconsolable for sure. Lucy had one word for every future she could think of without Gray in it: Hell.

She was happy that her awful little visions hadn't come to be reality. Then she saw Erza sitting in the chair next to him, her head practically melted into his chest with her crimson hair splayed all over his bed, some of it had even reached his chin and was tickling him.

She inwardly smirked, they were awfully close weren't they, she would have to inform Mirajane on this development.

Anything to get her off of her back about her and Natsu…

Gray finally replied.

"I'm alive, so I guess that's a start" He laughed at the look on Lucy's face. It just screamed 'Really?'. His laughter did turn into a bad cough but it was worth it. Her reaction was just to priceless to not enjoy completely.

Then Natsu walked over to Gray and grabbed him by his necklace roughly making him wince in pain.

"You're lucky I don't kick your ass right here stripper. Making Erza and Lucy cry is all I need to know so I can beat your ass but I'll let you go just for no-"

No sooner had he grabbed Grays necklace had Erza slowly and threateningly made her way over to the Salamander. She raised her fist and slammed it down on Natsu's head hard enough to knock him out.

She glared angrily at the poor git for a few seconds before her dark aura dissipated and everyone calmed down afterwards.

After Erza had calmed down, Gray then looked at Lucy and asked her if she was okay.

"Compared to you I am as good as can be! I just need some rest and I will be back to normal in no time." She answered with a hint of teasing in her voice.

Gray just grinned at her…

"I am sure that Natsu is very pleased about that." He replied and Lucy let out an exasperated sigh.

"Oh not you too..." She complained.

"You started it Luce, I can't help it if I am better than you when it comes to comebacks and insults." Gray grinned evilly at her. Lucy just stuck her tongue out at him and left the infirmary, passing Makarov on the way out.

The guild master told her before she went out that she and the rest of the guild were to stay in the guild hall until he gave them permission to leave.

Makarov got up on a stool and looked at the two mages, he looked as if he had watched a tragic horror movie.

"Gray, Erza." He started. "Simon has given me a Lacrima he picked up from the tower of heaven or whatever you all call it. I have watched it through and I must first say that I am very proud of both of you for your actions during that experience."

He looked over at Gray…

"You have sustained major damage to your body and it is a miracle that you are even awake already. Your body will heal up in due time but you will have to stay here for at least a month or two even thinking about going on missions again." He stated.

Gray groaned at the news. One month? A whole month, possibly even two of doing nothing but lying on his ass whilst flame brain gets all the fun? A whole month of boredom whilst he gets a whole month of fun?

That was unfair…

Before he could even complain, Makarov turned to look at Erza.

"You are very lucky Erza, if Gray hadn't pulled you out of that lacrima in time you would be dead. Luckily, you only sustained minor damage to you left leg, hence the limp. You also got a few minor head injuries so keep that bandage on and you suffered a few cracked ribs as I am sure you felt..."

Gray looked shocked, how hadn't he noticed that?

He just blamed it on Natsu…

"Now, I didn't just come in here to tell you what is wrong with you both. If I did that I would've said the stripping habit and the cheese cake addiction." Makarov said, his face completely serious.

"I can't help it! I don't even know i'm doing it until it's too late!" Gray sputtered.

"Master? Are you saying that I have an addiction? Please, punish me for my awful sin!"

Yup, Erza was definitely back to normal…

"Quiet, both of you. Now you are both probably unaware of this but your friend Simon has told me to tell you that he he had picked up a vision lacrima that was most likely installed by this Jellal character."

Grays eyes darkened at the mention of Jellal whilst Erza's moistened ever so slightly.

"Now I have seen it but I am not sure if you guys want the lacrima too seen by the others. If you do then just let me know and I will show or I will put it away forever."

Gray looked at Erza and she looked at him back. It was a fairly hard decision to make, did they want to hide this little endeavour or show it for their family to see?

Gray spoke first…

"In all honesty sir, I don't think I have the right to choose, this was Erza's past and a decision regarding her past should be rightfully hers to make. I will support whatever she chooses."

Erza looked at him thankfully, she felt guilty about his injuries but she was happy that he was in no way angry or upset about this in anyway.

That was what made him perfect in her mind.

She quickly pushed the romance back for a few minutes so she could think about her decision before she looked at Makarov with finality.

"Show them, but me and Gray won't be there to see it again. We already had to live through it..." She added the last part on quietly but Gray heard it and put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed lightly to give some comfort.

She smiled at him slightly, grateful for his support…

"Very well." Said Makarov. "You two can stay In here for the time being, it's not like you have a choice anyway."

Gray groaned before asking the master about the reason Erza had to stay in to. Makarov just told him that it was only for two days for her ribs to be magically healed and for her leg before walking out and shutting the door behind him.

:::-(())-:::

The guild was unusually silent and full of tension.

It had been four hours since team Natsu came back with a near dead Gray and crying Erza. The Titania's poor state shocked them badly to begin with but then they saw Gray bleeding and pale, being held by a big man with a helmet then they had started realising something bad had happened.

And not just the usual 'guild repair costs' bad but really bad…

Then Mirajane informed them that Gray had woken up somehow and then it was a battle to who could get to the infirmary doors first.

Natsu and Lucy had managed to get to the door first since they had sat next to it just waiting for him to wake up so they had been the lucky ones to enter.

A few minutes later Lucy had dragged Natsu out and she mouth at the others 'He hurt Gray slightly' and they instantly understood.

The master and the helmet man who introduced himself as Simon walked out of the Guild masters office and the master made his way to the infirmary whilst Simon sat down with Lucy and the unconscious dragon slayer.

The two talked about the events that had happened a few hours back and kept it up until Makarov came back out of the infirmary and locked the doors behind him.

They all looked at him when he pulled out a Lacrima and stood up on a stool. Simon looked at him with slight shock. He didn't expect Erza to allow her past to be known throughout this crowd, family or not.

"Alright brats, I am sure you are wondering why I have kept you all in the guild hall after hours, and now you can find out why." Makarov looked a Simon who nodded in reply.

He took a deep breath.

"Before I start I will say this right now, this has to do with why Gray and Erza had come in to your guild in this state. They will most likely not want to answer any question you have for them so if you try I will hurt you on their behalf." He said warningly.

"What you are about to see is the battle that took place on the top floor of the tower of heaven. I am sure you haven't heard of it but I will spare you the details and just say that it used to be a slave tower that held men, women and children of all ages."

Makarov took over from there…

"The reason Gray came in all beat up will be shown in the following lacrima vision, both Erza and Gray have gave us permission to show you this and they are not to be disturbed afterwards about this."

He held up the Lacrima and everyone's eyes were instantly drawn to the screen.

:::-(())-:::

Yeah, yeah, I know. Ending it there is neither a cliff hangar nor is it in any way smart, but I honestly have no idea on how to end this awful chapter.

Thank you for reading this and I apologise for it's poor ass quality. I have wanted to finish this off for a while now but I have struggled to get an inkling of an idea on how to end this at least half decently.

The last chapter will not be coming around for some time as I had stated in the first chapter. I want to continue on with TRE and at least get half way through the next arc before I revisit but if I feel like it I will come back to this and finish it off.

But this took me three days to make since I had no idea how to continue this…

PHRASES OF AWESOME!

From the book of Viperhats book of random stupidity…

'What doesn't kill you will hopefully try again and succeed this time around…'

'When the going gets tough, the tough lay down and cry loudly,'

And finally…

'The best job in the world: Trade bona, extended arrangement and regular appearances, try signing on the doll.'

Crap? Yeah, I thought so.

The mad rantings of a brain dead vegetable such as I should have known his phrases would be mere mash potatoes to the mentally stable.

But hey, at least I tried…

Yeah… This is getting awkward…

Wow! That was a long authors note!

Thanks for reading and stay cool,

-viperhat


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